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Samhain
Sam, or "Samhain", is the brainchild of film director/writer Michael Dougherty, appearing first in Dougherty's 1996 short film, Season's Greetings, and then in the horror film Trick 'r Treat. He was played by child actor Quinn Lord in the film. Appearing as a seemingly innocent masked trick-or-treater, Sam is revealed to be a demonic pumpkin-like creature who acts as the enforcer for the rules and traditions of Halloween, and is willing to do anything to make sure these rules are honored. Sam is essentially the Spirit of Halloween and has even been said by some to be a personification of the holiday itself. Since the film's release, Sam has become the mascot of Halloween. Overview Sam's name originates from Samhain, the origins of Halloween itself. He is depicted as a child dressed in a Halloween costume, which consists of an orange set of pajamas, and a mask made of a burlap sack with buttons for eyes. Sam drags a dirty sack around with him throughout the film, but its contents are unknown, presumably candy; Although the blood stains on the sack and the cat screeches that are occasionally heard from it strongly suggest otherwise. Despite his childlike appearance, it is established that Sam is more demonic than he appears, hiding a pumpkin-shaped head resembling a skull. Dougherty described Sam's head as a cross "between an embryo and a pumpkin".Trick 'r Treat: The Lore and Legends of Halloween documentary. Quinn Lord, who plays Sam in the film, described his character as being a demon who was born in a pumpkin patch. Behavior and Purpose Sam acts very much like a child; being mischievous and appearing to love candy and chocolate. In a deleted scene of the film, Sam is shown flipping the bird to Charlie.Deleted scenes on the Trick 'r Treat DVD. Sam is the personified being of Halloween itself as well as the enforcer of its traditions and rules. He visits a different town every year on Halloween and appears in Trick 'r Treat to enforce the rules of the holiday and punish those who ignore and defy them. There are many Halloween traditions. The ones demonstrated in the film are: Hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, wear a costume, and never blow out a Jack O'Lantern before midnight. As enforcer of the rules and rituals of Halloween, Sam takes it upon himself to punish those who break tradition in the most brutal and mischievous way possible. Interestingly enough, Sam's killings seem to demonstrate a cruel sense of irony. For example, his attempted killing of Mr. Kreeg involved Kreeg falling down a flight of stairs covered with candy, razor blades, and broken glass. This was of course after Kreeg angered Sam by not handing out trick-or-treating candy. Sam utilizes his weapons: Creating a sharp blade from a half-bitten lollipop, using a razor blade hidden inside a chocolate bar that he trick-or-treated from the local principal, the list goes on. Sam may leave a rule-breaker alone if they decide to follow the rules set by Sam's example. For instance, Sam leaves Mr. Kreeg alone after Kreeg unintentionally offers him some chocolate. Afterwards, Sam is infuriated by another rulebreaker and ends up killing her and hanging her head up on display. Sam displays an ability to influence other supernatural events to occur. He also seems to never interfere with these supernatural activities, regardless of who dies, like Dylan Baker's character Steven Wilkins, a firm believer in the traditions of Halloween. Abilities Sam naturally possesses dark supernatural powers: 1. Immortality and re-animation: He is shot by Mr. Kreeg which temporarily subdues him, Kreeg then proceeds to blow off Sam's right hand. Sam awakens moments later and reattaches his hand. (Sam has been in existence ever since the ancient Celtic Pagans celebrated Samhain and it is possible that as long as the holiday is alive in some form or another, Sam will continue to exist) 2. Wallcrawling: Scale walls and ceilings much like a spider. 3. Necromancy: Summons the dead to do his bidding. (i.e. The Halloween School Bus Massacre victims) 4.Teleportation: Sam naturally possesses the power to disappear and reappear whenever and wherever he wants to. (He really knows how to toy with his victims) 5. Telekinesis: Opens the door to make his exit after attacking Mr. Kreeg. 6. Manipulation of Fear: Sam has mastered the ability to play with his victims' minds. 7. Regeneration: He was shot in the head and had visible damage, but when he came to, the damage was gone. Sam's regeneration power is strong enough to reattach severed parts, i.e. his hand. 8. Superhuman Strength: While fighting Mr. Kreeg, Sam is able to knock him down just by jumping at him. He is also able to break Mr. Kreeg's arm during their fight just by twisting it. 9. Possession: Possesses Rhonda in order to leave her tormentors left for dead to the Halloween School Bus Massacre zombies. (She waves 'Goodbye' to Macy, Schrader, Chip, and Sara in exactly the same manner as Sam waves 'Hello' to Mr.Kreeg after his awakening) 10. Omnipotence: Simply causes the supernatural to happen by his own will or presence. 11. Shape-Shifting: Transforms his true appearance into that of a costumed child. 12. Magic: Sam has more than 2,000 years worth of knowledge and experience in many forms of Magic including Dark Magic and Witchcraft. 13. Clairvoyance: Sam possesses countless psychic abilities that he may use to his advantage. (i.e. Touching an unlit Jack-O-Lantern to see whether it has been blown out by a human or the wind) 14. Many more...(yet to be defined) Age Being the Spirit of Halloween, Sam is roughly as old as the holiday itself: More than 2,000 years. Legend To the untrained eye, Sam looks like a little boy out for a night of gathering candy, but what's hidden under the orange footy-pajamas is anything but sweet. The burlap sack with button eyes and a stitched-on smile shrouds something sinister, If Sam appears on your doorstep this Halloween, you better be wearing a costume and you better have a bowl full of treats, or you'll be in for one hell of a trick. True Form Being the Spirit of Halloween and possessing god-like or near god-like power, Sam can alter his shape, size, and overall appearance at will and may choose to come in any form as he so pleases. This being the case, Sam's disguise of choice is that of a child dressed in an innocent-looking Scarecrow costume. The scarecrow itself symbolizes fear and its manipulation. It is possibly for this reason that Sam chooses to masquerade as one. Sam's disguise allows him to blend in with the costumed humans and trick-or-treaters that are out and about on Halloween. Altering his size to that of a small child and wearing a Halloween costume, nobody would think twice about his appearance (Although Principal Wilkins seemed to be slightly disturbed by his presence); This allows Sam to keep an eye out for those that violate the rules and rituals of Halloween. For reasons only known to him, the only part of his body that Sam chooses not to alter is his head; only choosing to conceal it with his iconic scarecrow mask. This is why Sam's head looks disproportionately larger when compared to the rest of his false body. It is possible that Sam keeps his true face for the purpose of frightening any that may see it so that they know exactly who/what they're dealing with. While few have seen Sam's true face (and lived to tell about it), even fewer (close to none) have seen Sam's true form. While it is unknown what exactly his true form is, it is safe to say that his demonic Jack O' Lantern-like face gives some idea as to what it may be: A dark, imposing, divine, terrifying, omnipotent being that bleeds darkness, death, mischief, chaos, and fear wherever he goes; whose very presence causes supernatural phenomena to occur; The very essence and the personification of Halloween itself. Even when he has shape-shifted, Sam still maintains many of these traits. Origins Sam was born in a pumpkin patch somewhere in the heart of the ancient Celtic lands, where Halloween first originated. The more the ancient Celts celebrated the holiday, which was then called Samhain (Sow-en), the more Sam came into being. The annual celebration breathed life into its soon-to-be protector. On-Screen Appearances In Season's Greetings, Sam is seen looking for candy on Halloween. After failing to get any, Sam wanders into a dark alley and is attacked by a man in a black hooded cloak. (Possibly a serial killer or child molester) However, the fight ends with Sam emerging from the alley with a full sack. In Trick 'r Treat, Sam visits the fictional Warren Valley, Ohio. He traverses throughout the town to observe other people as they either celebrate or ignore Halloween, punishing those who ignore the rules. Sam deals with several different groups of characters throughout the film's non-linear storyline. During the film, Sam watches as a group of werewolves feast on a gathering of unsuspecting men and punishes several children by raising the corpses of the school bus massacre victims after they kick over a Jack O' Lantern. Chronologically prior to these events, Sam invades Mr. Kreeg's house in order to teach him the rules of Halloween. Kreeg fights for his life until he unintentionally gives Sam some chocolate. Sam's last appearance in the film is him going to punish a woman named Emma after she puts out the candle in jack o'lantern, Sam slits her throat with the sharp lollipop that he was going to use on Mr. Kreeg, and then strings up her various disembodied parts like Halloween decorations. Creation Michael Dougherty created Sam when he was at New York University taking animation classes, originally creating him as an alter ego for himself. Another reason behind Sam's creation was to give Halloween an iconic figure, other seasonal holidays having such iconic figures (e.g. Christmas has Santa Claus). He later used Sam as the main character or influential presence in Trick 'r Treat. Sam's pumpkin-like head was originally sketched by Dougherty in 2002, and he showed it to the film's concept artist to adapt into the film. Quinn Lord was picked to play Sam. Dougherty explained he wanted an actual child to play the character to make the performance look realistic. A stunt woman was used during the fight sequence with Brian Cox's character. Trivia Sam's full name, Samhain, is pronounced as it is spelled as opposed to the Celtic holiday's pronunciation "Sow-en". References Category:Demons Category:Monsters Category:Characters Category:Supernatural Category:Villains